


From Our Slanted View We See The Morning Dew

by geckoholic



Category: Original Work
Genre: Established Relationship, Ghosts, Light Angst, M/M, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 17:39:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16288934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckoholic/pseuds/geckoholic
Summary: In a lot of ways, Jesse's relationship is very normal.





	From Our Slanted View We See The Morning Dew

**Author's Note:**

  * For [M J Holyoke (wholeyolk)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wholeyolk/gifts).



> You pretty much gave me free reign for this one, so I pretty much went with the first idea that shot into my head. Hope you'll like it!
> 
> Beta-read by written-in-ink. Thank you! ♥ All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title is from "Titptoe" by Imagine Dragons.

Jesse is a very fortunate man; he knows that. For every artist who manages to get his work exhibited, there are hundreds, if not thousands, who never make it this far. And it's not like he'd ever complain about the public attention for his paintings and collages, but that doesn't mean he has to enjoy it. Vernissages are the worst part of the whole process. He's expected to be actively involved in them, talk about the work, explain what should not need any explanations, and he's required to waffle on about himself and his career and his _stunning talent_ all evening long. 

And what makes everything worse, this time, is that every other word he says about his inspiration for the series feels like lying – lying by omission, but a lie remains a lie. He keeps it general, like it's a foregone conclusion that a gay man would eventually make art about other gay men. He's clapped on the back for addressing the history of the community, the struggles of those who fought for their forbidden loves back when even the western world would put them in jail for the very fact that they did love another man. He looks at the face that reoccurs in three out of the eleven pieces in the exhibit, and he bites his lips to keep from screaming out the truth. 

 

***

 

In a lot of ways, Jesse's relationship is very normal. They fight when Jesse forgets to put his dirty shirts in the hamper, and instead lets them collect in a pile at the foot of the bed. They stream movies every Friday night and make cheap microwave popcorn for the occasion. They go to bed together at night and wake up next to each other in the morning. They discuss Jesse's work quite often, and if he could, Jesse would call Arthur his muse, his greatest inspiration. 

He can’t though. Most people around him would consider him clinically insane if he ever told them about his boyfriend. His parents, his sister, his agent, they all believe he's happily and adamantly single. 

Jesse is happy, that much is correct. He does, however, not consider himself single. He's very much in love. The difference between normal relationships and Jesse's relationship is that Arthur will never again produce dirty laundry, and he can't eat the popcorn. He doesn't have a warm body to wear a mold into the mattress on his side of the bed. He needs to be Jesse's best-kept secret. 

 

***

 

The vernissage drags on and on, and Jesse eyes the champagne that's passed around to his guests with immense longing. But drinking is somewhat unwise with a hidden ghost boyfriend in the picture. Jesse is a lightweight, and also the kind of drunk who will just blurt out whatever springs to mind, to whoever might be near, and he can't afford to do that anymore. A sabbatical, he calls it, when anyone asks. Which people do quite often, so often in fact that maybe one of his next series will be about alcohol as a socially accepted, if not required, legal drug. 

But first he'll have to get through the opening of _this_ series. He sighs, and digs a small pack of wine gums from his pockets instead, surreptitiously plopping a few of them into his mouth. They're not champagne, but they're also sweet and unhealthy. It's a compromise. 

 

***

 

Jesse was born on May 15, 1987. He rented his flat three years ago. Arthur was born July 22, 1917. He died in that very same flat on November 2, 1948. His death was a peaceful one. Heart failure, due to a disease undiscovered since birth. His life after death was a little less peaceful. Unresolved issues, that kind of thing. Not like he's ever been malevolent – there's never been a mean bone in Arthur's body, and as a ghost he didn't turn vicious and destructive either. But more than sixty years without a physical presence can give a guy some quirks. It certainly made him talkative. 

As a living and breathing human being, Arthur tends to say, he was rather taciturn. As a ghost, he can't stop talking. He seeks contact, communication. That desire sure made their first few weeks together, involuntarily flat-sharing from either side of the veil, a bit tumultuous. Before he met Arthur, Jesse never believed in the supernatural. It had been a bit of a journey from there to having a ghost boyfriend. 

 

***

 

It's long past midnight when Jesse finally returns home. He unlocks the front door, walks to the couch without flicking on the lights, and plops down. The temptation to just slide unto his back and sleep right there, fancy clothes and all, is strong. Jesse shivers, feeling the gentle chill of Arthur's touch on his cheek, and smiles. 

He nods. Yeah. He'll go to bed in a minute. Sleeping on the couch would be bad for his back. They both know that. Definitely. In a moment. The couch is just so comfortable... His head lolls to the side, and he yawns. He feels Arthur's grip around his wrist, insistent, and Jesse mumbles another confirmation that yes, yes, he'll get up any second now. Arthur tugs. 

Jesse lets himself be drawn to his feet, ushered into the bedroom, and he can feel Arthur's presence at his back while he does his evening routine. His touch remains a bit cold, lacking the warmth of a physical body, but it's unimaginably soft. Arthur is just _there_. He envelops Jesse with all his love, with their devotion to each other. He's strong. He's become Jesse's rock and shelter. 

He whispers reassurances into Jesse's ear as they both lay down, get comfortable, and wrap around each other like every other couple. In the early days, it was Arthur who had been terrified that it would all become too much for Jesse, too strange, not enough. Lately the tables have turned; Jesse's love had been the first piece to unlocking the issues that kept Arthur between two worlds, and developing the series of art together had opened the door to him fully. He could leave; move on, and find eternal rest in the afterlife. Some days Jesse thinks maybe he should, that it'd be better for him to return to his long-since deceased family and friends from before. He wasn't a solitary creature, even back then. He sees them sometimes, has a chat on days when the veil is particularly thin. He could choose them over Jesse. 

But he doesn't.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://lostemotion.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/spacenerdz).


End file.
